LAHORE: A full bench of the Lahore High Court on Tuesday adjourned for December 23 the hearing of a writ petition seeking disqualification of Interior Minister Rehman Malik as senator on the basis of being removed from the services of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

The full bench was constituted on the request of Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed who had referred the matter to the chief justice, observing that an important question of law was involved in the case and a larger bench should take up the matter.

Earlier, on the court orders, Deputy Attorney General Naveed Inayat Malik had produced the copy of the notification under which Malik’s removal from the services was converted into retirement.

The petition was filed by a local citizen, Mahfooz Ahmad, in which he submitted that Malik was removed from FIA’s service in 1998 and as such he was not eligible to be elected as senate member.

During the hearing on Monday, a deputy attorney informed the court that President Asif Ali Zardari had converted Malik’s removal into retirement consequently making the petitioner’s objection ineffective.

The petitioner had also challenged the notification, which converted Malik’s removal into retirement, pleading that the president’s decision was unlawful and did not give him the authority to do so under the Constitution.

He requested the court that the notification be declared null and void and the respondent senator be disqualified from the seat.